Body pulled from rubble of Whitesboro home destroyed by blast

A person has been confirmed dead and a Whitesboro neighborhood was littered with debris after a house exploded Saturday night.

KESHIA CLUKEY

A person has been confirmed dead and a Whitesboro neighborhood was littered with debris after a house exploded Saturday night.

At about 8:30 p.m., emergency crews were sent to 24 Ablett Ave., where where they found a residence that was leveled and the remnants blazing. This came not long after officials were in the neighborhood following reports of a possible natural gas leak.

Next door neighbors Richard and Gail Greco said the resident of the home was an elderly woman named Ada Tarnowski. The Grecos said her car was in the garage at the time of the blast.

Whitesboro Asst. Fire Chief Duane Evans could not confirm who lived at the home, but he did say that a peron's body was located in the rubble.

"It looks like she's in there," he said.

National Grid is in the midst of an investigation about the incident and is cooperating with local authorities, company spokesman Patrick Stella said.

Stella would not say what time National Grid was first called to the area Saturday because that is part of the investigation. The company has no further comment at this time, he said.

The Grecos live at 26 Ablett Ave. and were inside their home when they heard and felt the explosion.

"She said 'look outside' and the house was in the yard," Richard Greco said, as he stood in the street wrapped in a blanket late Saturday night.

Across the street from the explosion in a neighbors front yard was where the front door of 24 Ablett Ave. home landed. A couch could be seen in another neighbor's driveway.

"I'm a mess, I don't know how to explain it," said Gail Greco, 74, as she surveyed the damage and wondered about the fate of her neighbor Saturday night.

Nearby Main Street resident Dennis Lado was at home when he heard the explosion.

Evans said firefighters were still working to extinguish hot spots and search the premises.

Colleen Achen Trusdale, a resident of 16 Ablett Ave., said that earlier in the evening there was a strong smell of natural gas in the neighborhood. She said that a police officer came to her door as he was attempting to locate the source.

"It smelled so strong, then it seemed to disappear," she said.

It was a short time later that the blast shook the quiet street.

The Grecos' daughter Beverly Snow said her parents' home was shaken, and that many belongings inside were thrown across the rooms. Their garage, and the cars within, were destroyed.

Police from Whitesboro and Whitestown responded as well as troopers, sheriff's deputies and Kunkel Ambulance.

National Grid was also on the scene shortly after the blast was reported.